It's certainly not comparing like with like: North Korea is a small, impoverished and isolated country; South Korea is wealthy and backed by the world's number one superpower.

They never call themselves the names we do either: officially, it's the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (that's the North, to the rest of us) and the Republic of Korea. And, while the South is westernised and industrialised, the North has the distinction of being the most corrupt country int e world (joint with Afghanistan), according to Transparency International, have a high infant mortality rate and homicide rate - plus have one of the lowest press freedom scores anywhere in the world.

The big caveat with all this data is the fact that we know very little, really, about North Korea. These numbers, estimates as they are by the UN and other bodies, are almost certainly wrong. But they are the best numbers we have.

Full links and data are available for download below. What can you do with them?

Data summary

North v South Korea

Country

N.Korea (Democratic People's Republic of)

S.Korea (Republic of)

Population

24,720,407

48,955,203

GDP (purchasing power parity), $bn

40

1,622

GDP - real growth rate (%)

0.8

2.7

GDP - per capita (PPP), $

1,800

32,400

Unemployment rate, %

3.8

Urban population (%)

60

83

Military expenditures

Median age

33

39

Infant mortality rate, per 1,000 live births

26.21

4.08

Life expectancy at birth (total population)

69.2

79.3

Area

122,762 sq km

99,313 sq km

Corruption Index ranking 2012

174

45

Press Freedom Index 2013

178

50

Total executed, 2007-2011

105

0

Total sentenced to death, 2007-2011

0

13

CO2 Emissions (metric tons per capita)

3.1

10.4

% of rural population with access to an improved water source

97

88

Internet users per 100 people

< 0.1

81.5

Intentional homicide, rate per 100,000 population

15.2

2.6

Intentional homicide, count per 100,000 population

3,658

1,251

Exports, $ billion

4.71

552.6

Imports

4

514.2

Net official development assistance (ODA) and official aid (current US$)